Long Time No Post

It's been almost two weeks since our last post. I do apologize for the lack of Bode-pictures, so to make up for it, you will be treated to ten (10) amazing photographs of Bode in action (well, 9 because there's one picture of just Mommy and Daddy).

For the July 4th holiday, Ashley, Bode, and I make the trek to Chicago to visit my Dad. My brother and his family (wife and three kids) also came up from Albuquerque, so this was the first chance the four McGuirk cousins had of being together. Our journey started early Wednesday morning. We managed to get out of the house and on the road at 0634, only 4 minutes beyond our target departure time (I blame Ashley for our tardiness). The drive started smoothly, and Bode did great in the car (and we made great time). He slept for a couple hours, played with his toys, and was quite pleasant. At 1100 EDT, we (Ashley) decided we should stop at a Cracker Barrel for lunch (stopping really puts a dent into our miles per hour average). However I decided it would probably be nice to let her and the boy feed. Unbeknownst to us, we had crossed into Central Time, so the waitress gave us a strange look when we asked for the lunch menu.

Bode sucked down a bottle--here's a shot of him and Ashley sitting in the rocking chairs in front of the restaurant.After topping off our tanks (the car included), we hit the road again. We were passing Gary, Indiana, about 90 miles from our destination when Ashley says, "Jeffy, it's getting hot in here. Is the air conditioning on?" I placed my hand in front of the vent and felt hot air. The dial was set to cool, so I checked the gauges. The service engine soon light was glaring at me, and the temperature gauge was pegged beyond H. "Oh Fudge!" I said (but I didn't say fudge). There really was nowhere to pull over, so we quickly shut off the air and cranked on the heater to help vent the engine. Fortunately, the temperature came back down, but we did drive the rest of the way with the heat on and the windows open (sort of unpleasant), and we also kept the speed to a very reasonable level (needless to say, we didn't set any time records for the Dayton to Chicago journey). Thankfully, a Nissan store was only a few minutes from Dad's house, and we were able to get the car fixed (they also offered to recharge the Halogen in the lights, but they couldn't fool a car-guy like me and get me to bite on this :-)

Fortunately, that was the only drama on the trip. Everyone made it safely to Chicago, and the kids had a grand time getting to know each other. Brenna (age 7) and Sean (age 5) were sooo good with Bode. They were so gentle and cute when they played with him, so much so that Ashley decided she wants at least three more kids (only "kidding"). Here's a shot of the three cousins playing in the yard.
There was a little park within walking distance, so we strolled over and played on some of the equipment. We managed to pry Brenna and Sean off the jungle-gym long enough to take the following picture.Next, we have "Aunt Ashley (aka Mommy)", Brenna, and Bode. If only Brenna had on some type of Auburn attire, we'd consider her part of our family. As such, she's just some vagrant from New Mexico...Here's Uncle Pat holding his 1-year old daughter, Devin, while watching Bode (sort of looks like he's more interested in his i-Phone, doesn't it?)Devin is actually walking, so seeing her was like a glimpse into what the future holds for Bode. The two of them were very cute together. Obviously in the picture below, Devin is saying, "Daddy, why don't I have a cool Auburn Tigers hat?"A cute one of Bode and Daddy.Another cute one, this time of Bode and Mommy. Evidently one of Bode's cousin's stole the Auburn lid...why else would Bode be wearing that goofy sun-hat?One of the day's, Ashley, Dad, and I managed to sneak away for some golf. Here's a shot of Ashley and me on the first tee (obviously the first tee because we are still smiling). I think Dad ended up winning (home-course advantage), but we had fun. Ashley shot a personal best 54-51 for a 105. Evidently having kids improves her golf game...After a hard day on the course, it was Miller Time (someone call child services!)We had a nice time in Chicago, but since we haven't won the lottery, we had to return to Ohio for work. Actually, Ashley spent less than 24 hours in Dayton because on Monday, she flew out to Colorado for the week, leaving Bode and me to fend for ourselves (thankfully Auburn and Dudley were here to help me). We had a fine week--nothing exciting (i.e. no fires). Ashley returned Friday and we had a nice dinner Friday night. Unfortunately, Bode got sick on Saturday--he wasn't screaming or crying or anything like that, but he just wasn't himself (no smiles at all). We took his temperature and it was 101.5. He slept a lot yesterday and most of this morning. Thankfully, he's smiling again, and we're so happy to have our little guy back. We may go to the park or to hit some golf balls this afternoon. It's a short week at the office for us, as on Friday, we leave for a week-long vacation to Georgia.

Pleasant week to all.